International tourism in Catalonia up 1 million over last year

Catalonia welcomed 11.2 million international visitors from January to July, a 9.4% increase since 2016

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31 August 2017 02:24 PM

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ACN | Madrid

When it comes to breaking records, the Catalan tourism in industry seems to know no limits.

Catalonia welcomed 11.2 million international tourists from January to July, a 9.4% increase since last year over the same timespan. The figures were announced by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Thursday.

In July alone, 2.6 million international visitors came to Catalonia, a 6.5% increase since 2016. It is the most popular destination in Spain, accounting for 24.3% of the total.

Catalonia is the most popular destination in Spain for international tourists, accounting for 24.3% of the total

Almost one out of four international visitors coming to Catalonia are French. With 23.4% of the total, France is the most common country of origin for international tourists. The United Kingdom ranks second with 10.1%.

The number of tourists arriving in Spain is growing even more. In July, Spain welcomed 10.5 million tourists from all around the world, a 10.1% increase over last year. From January to July, the increase went up to 11.3% over last year. In total, more than 46.9 million tourists have visited Spain.

According to Catalonia’s Institute of Statistics (IDESCAT), Catalonia has a population of 7.5 million people. Spain has 46.5 million inhabitants.